Wu, Kang, Li, Yuanyuan, Zou, Yihuai et al. · PloS one · 2022 · DOI
This study tested whether Tai Chi exercise could help people with ME/CFS by looking at brain activity patterns. Researchers compared 20 ME/CFS patients with 20 healthy people, teaching both groups Tai Chi for one month. They found that Tai Chi improved fatigue, sleep quality, and overall health, and that specific brain networks became better connected after the training.
This study provides mechanistic insight into how a non-pharmacological intervention may benefit ME/CFS by identifying specific brain networks involved in fatigue and cognitive dysfunction. If validated, these findings could help establish Tai Chi as an evidence-based treatment and offer a neurobiological framework for understanding ME/CFS pathophysiology.
This pilot study does not prove that Tai Chi is effective for all ME/CFS patients, as the sample was small and culturally specific. The study shows correlation between brain connectivity changes and symptom improvement but does not establish causation or rule out placebo effects. Results require replication in larger, international cohorts with longer follow-up and control for expectancy effects.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Wu, Kang, Li, Yuanyuan, Zou, Yihuai, Ren, Yi, Wang, Yahui, Hu, Xiaojie, et al. (2022). Tai Chi increases functional connectivity and decreases chronic fatigue syndrome: A pilot intervention study with machine learning and fMRI analysis.. PloS one. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0278415
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-wu-2022-tai-chi,
author = {Wu, Kang and Li, Yuanyuan and Zou, Yihuai and Ren, Yi and Wang, Yahui and Hu, Xiaojie and Wang, Yue and Chen, Chen and Lu, Mengxin and Xu, Lingling and Wu, Linlu and Li, Kuangshi},
title = {Tai Chi increases functional connectivity and decreases chronic fatigue syndrome: A pilot intervention study with machine learning and fMRI analysis.},
journal = {PloS one},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0278415},
note = {PubMed: 36454926},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/wu-2022-tai-chi},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/wu-2022-tai-chi
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